» Master of Arts in Counseling and Pupil Personnel Services Credential in School Counseling Program Review

Executive Summary

1. Program Summary

Executive Summary

The program, which includes an MA in Counseling and the PPS Credential in School Counseling, consists of 51 semester units that is typically completed over the course of two years although a three year sequence is allowed upon request. A maximum of 20 students start the program in the summer term of their first year and complete all coursework, 200 hours of practica, and 600 hours of final fieldwork in May of their second or third years. As noted in our mission, the program has a strong emphasis on developing School Counselors who are able to provide a wide range of services to children and youth.

Program Summary

The program consists of 51 credits and is a year-round program that is designed to be completed in two years. A few students complete the program in three years. The program accepts a maximum of 20 students in the summer and each cohort takes the majority of classes together.  Both the 2-year-plan and the 3-year-plan follow a set sequence of classes. Exceptions to this sequence are only allowed with individual consultation with the Program Coordinator and the creation of an alternative plan of study.

Last summer, the program added CSP 600: Multitiered Systems of Support for School Counselors. This course took the place of EDUC 602: Positive Behavioral Supports. Faculty members believed that the CSP 600 would strengthen knowledge of multitiered systems of support and school-wide systems of prevention for social-emotional and academic problems. 

As noted in our mission, we view counselors as school-based mental health professionals. For example, in CSP 500 and CSP 512, students are given extensive exposure to SFBT and CBT. In CSP 512, students also participate in PREPaRE, the NASP crisis intervention program. In this same course, students receive training in suicide assessment and responding to grief. In the new course mentioned above, CSP 600, students are trained in Restorative Practices and receive a certificate from the IIRS.

In the Spring of their second year, students enroll in CSP 515: Practicum in Professional School Counseling (3 credits). In addition to weekly meetings for group supervison and seminar, students complete 200 hours of fieldwork. In addition to in-class supervision, students are supervised by a site supervisor. All fieldwork sites are required to provide access to a diverse population of students and opportunities to gain experience in all domains of the ASCA Model. In their second year, students enroll in 3 credits of final fieldwork each smester (CSP 620 and CSP 621) and are required to complete 600 hours. These courses also meet regularly for group supervision and seminar. The program has placed students in 22 different districts during the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 school years.

A full-faculty member, who is credentialed as a School Counselor, coordinates the Program. Although not formally designated as a department, the FT faculty in School Counseling and School Psychology programs meet monthly to make collective decisions about curriculum and student concerns. The Program Coordinator attends monthly program coordinator meetings, which include the Dean and Associate Dean for Graduate studies.  

Stakeholder input is obtained through: 1) twice yearly meetings with part time faculty, 2) end of semester surveys of students, 3) exit surveys of graduating students,  and 4) alumni outcome data.  In the fall of 2016, the program was part of a Community Engagement Summit, which included people from local school districts. The purpose of the Summit was to gather input from community members. 

The program uses several methods of assessment. These include:

a) Key assignments:

1. Final exam – Fall, year 1 Note*: Introduced in Fall 2018.
2. Resilience Project – Fall, year 1
3. First year research paper – Spring, year 1
4. Group Counseling case study – Spring, year 1 Note*: Introduced in Spring 2019.
5. Consultation case studies (2) – Spring, year 2
6. Interview project – Fall, year 2
7. Systems change project – Spring, year 2

b) Self and supervisor evaluations during practicum and final fieldwork

c) Praxis Exam in Counseling and Guidance – in student handbook, p. 2

d) Exit interview/Portfolio presentation

Key assignments are described in Assignment Protocols that are given to students in the corresponding courses. Information regarding the Praxis Exam and Exit Interview are explained in CSP 511: Introduction to the Ethical Practice of School Counseling in the fall of the first year and again in CSP 618: Best Practices in School Counseling in the Spring of the second year. Information is also contained in the Program Student Hanbook.

2. Organizational Structure

Provide an organizational chart or graphic to show how the program leadership and instructional personnel/staff are organized within the program and how the program fits into the education unit, including personnel serving in non-teaching roles, including the roles and responsibilities of those involved in assigning and placing mentors/coaches. The graphic should depict the chain of authority and include individuals up to the dean or superintendent level. If the program operates as a consortium with shared leadership, the graphic should include also include individuals serving in induction administrative roles in entities within the consortium.

Exhibit 2.1 Attallah College Education Program Organizational Chart

3. Faculty Qualifications (Instructional Personnel)

Three exhibits are required. One additional exhibit is only required if there are vacancies.

a. Submit a faculty distribution table that provides an overview of faculty. The table should include numbers of full time, part time, and adjunct faculty. Vacancies should also be noted. 

Although 11 FT faculty have taught in the program in 2016-2018, there are currently five FT faculty members who are associated with the CSP Faculty Cluster. In addition, there are four other FT faculty members, who have other primary responsibilities, who also teach in the program.

b. Programs must also submit a current annotated faculty list denoting which courses are taught by which faculty, including part time faculty members. It is not necessary to include intermittent adjunct faculty unless they are the only instructor for a particular course. The annotated list should include the faulty member’s name, degree, status (fulltime, part time, adjunct), and list of the courses he/she teaches. 

The faculty member’s name should link to his/her vita. The courses should link to his/her most recent syllabus for the courses noted. See example that follows:

Exhibit 3.2. School Counseling Annotated Faculty List with links to Faculty Vitae & Syllabi

c. Provide links to published documentation (e.g. job descriptions, online advertisements, contract language) regarding the experience and qualifications used to select adjunct faculty.

Required exhibits and links:

Exhibit 3.3  Published Adjunct Experience and Qualifications Requirements

Exhibit 3.4  Faculty Recruitment Documents

4. Course Sequence

Clear information about the sequence in which candidates take courses should be submitted. This should be a link to website, course catalog or other document that is readily available to candidates and prospective candidates. If the program is offered via more than one pathway or model, link to course sequence should be provided for each pathway or model, a link to course sequence should be provided for each pathway or model.

Exhibit 4.1 Pupil Personnel Services Credential School Counseling Course Sequence

Exhibit 4.1.1  Student Handbook (pp. 3-5)

5. Course Matrix

Each program must provide a matrix denoting the candidates’ opportunity to learn and master the competencies for that credential. Required course matrix templates for each program can be found on the Commission’s Program Review webpage.

These templates provide the candidate competencies for each program and must be used. The required courses for the program (course names not just course numbers) should go across the top of the matrix; the candidate competencies are listed in the first column.

Programs may add additional competencies specific to the institution’s program if needed. For each competency it should be noted when the candidate is introduced (I), practices (P), and is assessed for (A) the competency. These notations may occur under more than one course heading. Each notation should link to a specific place in the syllabus within that course that demonstrates that this is occurring. A partial sample follows.

Exhibit 5.1  Course Matrix

6. Fieldwork and Clinical Practice Seven exhibits are required.

Programs must provide specific evidence of meeting the requirements of clinical practice as described in the Commission standards for that program. The required documentation is:

a)  A Table that denotes the number of hours that each candidate is required to participate in early fieldwork and supervised clinical practice and how those hours are broken out across fieldwork/clinical experiences. It is appropriate for programs to label fieldwork experiences using your institution’s nomenclature. 

b) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Partnership Agreement, or link to published supporting document that clearly delineates the requirements of each candidate placement in alignment with the requirements of the Commission program standards for that program; expectations and criteria for veteran practitioner selection, training and evaluation; and support and assessment roles and responsibilities for the program and the district.

Exhibit 6.2  Signed MOU for each placement

c) Training Materials used to train Veteran Practitioners (for example, master teachers) serving in support and/or supervisory roles.

Exhibit 6.3  Training Materials for Veteran Practitioners

Although we obtain input from veteran practioners and provide them information regarding fieldwork expectations, we do not have a formal training program. This is a goal for the upcoming year. Although the program does not have these materials, program facuty are very active in providing in-service education and conference presentations for practitioners.

d) Documentation such as a spreadsheet or table verifying appropriate placements for all candidates (first name, last initial is fine) that aligns with the particular program standards (refer to program standards for additional information). For example, in a Preliminary Multiple or Single Subject credential program the spreadsheet would verify that placements reflect socioeconomic and cultural diversity, support English learners, provide opportunities to work with students with disabilities, and have a fully qualified administrator (see MS/SS Program Standard 3 for additional criteria); whereas in a Preliminary Administrative Services credential program, the spreadsheet would verify that field experiences include a variety of diverse and realistic settings both in day to day functions… and in long-term policy design… (see ASC Program Standard 7 for additional criteria)

Exhibit 6.4  Table verifying appropriate placements

e) Published Manuals or Handbooks or Advising Materials (links) that provide information to the district and candidates about expectations within the clinical experience including appropriate placements, veteran practitioner support, and information about clinical practice assessment.

Exhibit 6.5  Published Handbooks/Advising Materials

f) Syllabi for supervised clinical experiences. The syllabi should include information regarding how the candidate is assessed during clinical practice. Copies of blank assessment instruments should be included.

Exhibit 6.6  Fieldwork/Clinical Practice Syllabi CSP 515 620/621

Exhibit 6.6.1  Clinical Practice Assessment Instruments (Beginning page 24 & highlighted in yellow)

7. Credential Recommendation

Two exhibits are required. Provide a brief description (200 words or less) of the program's process to ensure that only qualified candidates are recommended for the credential. The description should include a link to the program’s candidate progress monitoring document or other tracking tool used to verify that candidate has met all requirements for the program prior to recommendation.

Exhibit 7.1  Description of process ensuring appropriate recommendation

As illustrated in Exhibit 2.1, duties regarding credential recommendations are provided solely by persons who are current employees of Attallah College at Chapman University. All Attallah College school counseling and school psychology credential recommendations to the Commission are submitted by a program support staff who is an employee of Chapman University and approved to submit recommendations (see School Counseling Handbook, p. 2 and School Psychology Handbook, p. 14).

Exhibit 7.1.1 Candidate Progress Monitoring

The Attallah College, Credential Specialist tracks candidate progress during their enrollment in the program and verifies that candidates have all requirements prior to being admitted (see Candidate Progress Tracking example, requirements section).